Production of metal articles



Jan.. l0, 1939. A. R. wALToN PRODUCTION OF' METAL ARTICLES Filed Aprill0, 1936 Patented Jan.. 10, 1939 PATENT OFFICE Application lipril 10,1936, Serial No. 73,796 En Great Britain April lll, i935 d Claims.

This invention relates to the production of metal articles such assheets, slabs, billets, rails, wires or other shapes and it has forobject a method and apparatus whereby an improved product may beobtained in either the structure of the metal or by the elimination ofirregularities, such as pipes, blow-holes, slivers, fills and iins, andin which a saving in cost may also be eected. y

The invention is particularly applicable to the production of steel andiron sheets.

The invention is of the kind in which molten metal is poured or run onto driven rolls by which it is rolled and from which it is delivered hasbeen proposed comprising a pair oi driven rolls containing molten metalbetween them, a

curved guide table to receive the solidified metal therefrom and arolling mill to which the solidified metal is delivered for furthertreatment and forming. It has been proposed to have circumferentialgrooves or corrugations in the cylindrical faces of the rolls with theobject of causing the length of metal to issue therefrom withlongitudinal corrugations the full Width of the rolls to increase thestrength of the length of metal.

Due to the great heat to lwhich the rolls are submitted they tend tobecome distorted and to develop re cracks. It is an object of thepresent invention to provide means to overcome these disadvantages.

According to the invention therefore apparatus for producing a metalarticle, such as a steel sheet, comprises a pair of driven rolls whichare grooved, ribbed or corrugated longitudinally, and means to delivermolten metal to said rolls, for example a ladle having a pouring orificeat the bottom, and rollers having peripheries which are complementary tothe peripheries of the rolls to which the molten metal is delivered andwhich are mounted to have rolling engagement with said rolls.

The article produced by said rolls may be sub--` mitted to a furthertreatment in an apparatus, such as a, rolling mill, to nish orsemi-finish it.

With the object of removing gases from the molten metal before castingand to prevent slag from being included in the poured metal a stillfurther feature of the invention consists in introducing the moltenmetal from a melting furnace into a ladle at or towards the bottomthereof, for example below the centre, and running the metal to thedriven rolls from the ladle through a pouring orifice at the bottomthereof.

An apparatus according to the present inven- (bi. 22e-57.5)

tion for producing steel sheets directly from molten metal will now bedescribed by way of example and with reference to the accompanyingdrawing, wherein:-

Fig. l shows partly diagrammatically one form of apparatus,

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the rolls,

Fig. 3 a view from the right of Fig. 1 of the ladle only, Fig. 4 amodified form of ladle, also partly dia- 10 grammatically, and

Fig. 5 shows a still further modification.

Referring to Fig. l, l is the ladle of inverted conical or triangularshape in cross-section with a pouring orice 2 of narrow slot formextending 15 across the bottom. Said orifice is closed by a gate 3 whichslides within the ladle and is operated by a rack and pinion 4, 5. Alsotowards the bottomv is a second or filling orifice 6 which is alsoclosed by a sliding gate I operated by a rack and pinion, 8, 9. Saidlling orifice connects with a lilling funnel lil on the outside of theladle. Driven rolls II, I2 are so disposed in relation to the pouringorice 2 that the stream of molten metal, indicated at 24, is deliveredon to one roll Il at the side adjacent the other roll it.

The rolls i i, I2 are groovecl, ribbed or corrugated longitudinally asshown at 23 the corruga tions preferably being shallow and comparativelywide. Rollers i3, i4 having peripheries which are complementary withthose of the rolls II, I2 have rolling engagement therewithrespectively. The further rollers I3, It are mounted on shafts I5, I6carried in bearings Il, I8 respectively. 35 Said bearings are adjustableto provide for and maintain pressure of the rollers i3, IB on the rollsIl, I2, as for example, by means of the screws I9, 20. The rolls II, I2,and if desired the rollers I3, I4 may be cooled by water or other 40means if desired.

At each end of the rolls II, I2 is a disc 21 carried on a spindle 26which is freely rotatable in a bearing in the frame of the apparatus andis surrounded by a spring 28 urging the disc into 45 surface contactwith the respective adjacent ends of the rolls. These discs 21 close theends of the gap between the rolls on the side open to the stream 24 ofmolten metal and prevent the escape of the latter from between the rollsin the lateral direction.

The rolls, ll, I2 are of alloy steel capable of withstanding the meltingpoint of Bessemer or open hearth steels, that is, to withstand a heat atleast up to 3,300 F., and they may be either solid or built up of aseries of rings or segments.

Adjacent the rolls II, I2 is a horizontal roller conveyor 2| arrangedopposite to a. 2 or 4 high rolling mill 22 of known form.

In use, the pouring orice 2 being closed, metal from a melting furnaceis introduced into the ladle I through the funnel I0 and the fillingorifice 6 and when the ladle is lled said lling orifice is closed by thegate 'I by operatingthe rack and pinion 8, 9.. By introducing the metalfrom the bottom of the ladle impurities and gases rise to the top andimpurities can be removed. When the ladle has been filled the pouringorice 2 is opened by operating the rack and pinion, 4, 5, and the metalis delivered in a wide stream 24 to the rolls II, I2. As indicated thestream is preferably delivered to one roll (I I) at a point opposite theother roll. The said rolls form it into a sheet 25 with transversecorrugations, during the production of which irregularities, such aspipes and blow-holes, are eliminated in a more satisfactory manner thanhitherto and at the same time the sheet, which solidies or partlysolidies as it is produced, has its passage through the rollsfacilitated. 'I'he rolls are driven at such a speed that the metal iscarried through as fast as it is delivered to them. Said sheet isdelivered by the rolls I I, I2 to the roller conveyor 2i by which it isfed directly andwithout reheating to the rolling mill 22. It is rolledby said mill into lengths of a desired section.

The filling funnel I'Ii may be separate from the ladle and removable.

The rollers I3, I Il are maintained under pressure in contact with therolls II, I2 whereby re cracks in the latter are prevented or largelyso. Any tendency to overheating of the rolls is reduced by reason of thefact that the metal is carried through as fast as it is delivered to therolls.

The modified form of ladle illustrated in Fig. 4 is closed at the .topexcept at one corner I5 and .the filling funnel I0 is arranged todeliver the molten metal to the ladle at said corner, the ladle thenbeing arranged in a position in which the pouring orifice 2 is at aslightly lower level than the point I5 at which the molten metal isintroduced. As the ladle I is lilled the gases included in it rise tothe top and escape and any impurities rise to the top and may flow awaythrough the opening I5. After the ladle has been lled it is rotatedthrough about (in anti-clockwise direction as shown in the drawing) tomove it to a position in which the pouring oric'e 2 is at the bottom asis illustrated in Fig. 1. Such filling of the ladle from one side andsubsequently rotating it to move the pouring orice to the bottcm isfound to produce a similar eiect in eliminating gases and impurities tothe introducing of the metal from the bottom of the ladle. In this formof apparatus a gate is not required to close the iilling orice of theladle.

It will be understood that the gate for the filling or pouring orificemay be on the outside of the ladle if desired and said gates may berotary or sliding and may be operated by any convenient gear.

The axes or rotating centres of the rolls II, I2 to which the moltenmetal is delivered may be level or one somewhat above the other as isfound necessary or desirable. The pouring orifice has been described inthe specic example of Fig. 1 as of narrow slot form. If the article tobe produced is of other than sheet form theorifice may becorrespondingly of different shape. 'I'he present invention is howeverparticularly suitable for the manufacture of thin sheets.

If desired the one side of the funnel I0 may be constituted by a side ofthe ladle I as is indicated in Fig. 5.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for producing a metal article comprising a pair of drivenrolls each formed peripherally with longitudinally extending depressionsand elevations, rollers having peripheries which are complementary tothe peripheries of the pair of driven rolls, means holding the saidrollers in rolling engagement with the said driven rolls, and means todeliver molten metal to said driven rolls.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, including means to provide a pressurebetween a. roller and a driven roll.

3. Apparatus for producing a metal article comprising a pair oflongitudinally corrugated rolls disposed adjacent one another in'parallel relation to provide a gap therebetween, means rotating thesaid rolls in optmsite directions to cause the adjacent portions of therolls to travel in the same general direction, the said gap always beingdefined by complementary surfaces of the two.rolls, means co-operatingwith the ends of the rolls to close the ends of the said gap, rollershaving peripheries which are complementary to .the peripheries of thecorrugated rolls, pressureapplying means holding the said rollers inrolling engagement with the said corrugated rolls at points thereonremote from the gap between the rolls, and a ladle containing moltenmetal disposed above the pair of corrugated rolls and having a pouringorifice at the bottom to deliver the said molten metal into the entry'tothe said gap.

4. In apparatus for producing a metal article by pouring metal into thegap between a pair of driven parallel rolls, means to deliver moltenmetal to the said gap consisting of a ladle having a metal pouringorifice at the bottom and a metal lling orice located near the bottom, agate for closing the said pouring orifice, a gate for closing the saidfilling orice and a lling funnel connected to said iilling orifice.

ALEXANDER RICHARD WALTON.

